Sports
Auburndale boys volleyball ends season in regional quarterfinals
Heading into Tuesday’s 2025 FHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championship Tournament, it was all about control, communication and energy for Auburndale High School.
With this mentality used through the entirety of the match, though, it was evident that the major difference between the Class 2A, District 7 Tournament — Auburndale won a district title for the first time in program history — and this regional quarterfinal game was the amount of offense the team had, as Bishop Moore comprised star hitters all over who executed solid serves. When the match culminated, the No. 2-seeded Bishop Moore defeated the No. 7-seeded Auburndale 3-0, promptly ending the year, though it was one of the ages.
“I feel like I can never really express how proud I am of this team, but for them to buy into Coach Syd (assistant coach Sydney Porter) and I and believe in the vision we saw since day one speaks volumes itself and as our first year, we couldn’t have ever dreamed it out this way if we tried,” Auburndale head boys volleyball coach Samantha Davila said.
A part of the vision and the process, however, was Auburndale’s nerves and the overall aura of being this far in the playoffs, which seemingly adversely impacted Auburndale’s bunch in that first set.
In the second set, the Bloodhounds finally caught a rhythm but were complacent.
When the third set rolled around, Davila said the energy must change.
“(The) third set is one of those where the mentality has to switch in (the) postseason where you either win and you keep fighting tooth and nail or you lose and (the) season (is) over and I think as a new team and never being in the postseason, we haven’t learned that drive that’s needed,” Davila said. “They improved every set, never gave up on each other, and constantly stayed positive.”
“I learned that as long as you trust each other and believe in one another you will go anywhere you want. Volleyball is a game of mistakes but if I trust you’ll get the next one or you will better the next ball then we are unstoppable. There is no doubt that we have the confidence, and we are just going to keep growing.”
But since the end of the season, Auburndale will have to grow without some key seniors. Outside hitter Ethan Tran this past year was one of the Bloodhounds’ stars on the outsides who will be furthering his education at Palm Beach Atlantic University for finance.
Also departing is Hunter Bailey who was a huge utility player, serving, playing middle or right side, or even playing some defense.
Returning will be sophomore outside hitter Bray Weinacker, sophomore setter Randy Tillman, junior Libero Sebastian Crespo-Jimenez, among others.
“We had the opportunity to get a young team, and we can’t wait to develop them even more,” Davila said.